Facebook Introduces Marketplace

Facebook has introduced Marketplace to its 1.71 billion active monthly users. The new feature, accessible through the Facebook app, allows users to buy, sell and connect with each other.

Buying and Selling Items on Facebook Marketplace

If you have recently updated the Facebook app on your phone, you will see that Marketplace has replaced the messenger button on the main navigation bar.

You can use Marketplace by selecting the shop icon at the bottom of the Facebook app. Once you have opened Marketplace, you will see a stream of items listed for sale from people who are nearby:

You also have the option to filter these by category, price and location:

If you still can’t find what you are looking for, you can use the search functionality to find specific items:

Buying Items Using Marketplace

Buying items from Facebook’s marketplace is easy. Simply select the item you would like to buy, view the seller’s details (including product information and their location) and make an offer to the seller via direct message:

As you can see, this concept is similar to “buy and sell” Facebook Groups and Gumtree. Payments or delivery of items are not facilitated by Facebook.

Selling Items Using Marketplace

Selling items is just as easy as buying an item. Simply take a photo of the item you would like to sell, add your product details (item name, price, description) and set your location. Your item is now ready to be sold!

Six Things You Need to Know About Facebook Marketplace

Now that Facebook has streamlined the buying and selling process for all of its users, is it any good? Can it challenge the likes of eBay and Gumtree? And is it worth using?

Pros

Marketplace is integrated with Facebook messenger, meaning that buyers and sellers can view each other’s profile information and are less vulnerable to scams.

This new feature is taking advantage of existing user behaviours and according to Facebook “More than 450 million people visit buy and sell groups each month – from families in a local neighbourhood to collectors around the world.”

It is more convenient for accessing a variety of items than ecommerce sites such as eBay and Esty. Users have increased visibility of items that they can collect nearby, rather than having to pay and wait for postage.

Cons

Marketplace is still new and lacks the ability to rate different sellers and buyers.

This feature is not currently integrated with Facebook business pages (but that’s not to say there isn’t potential for developing features for business pages in the future).

Although users can search for specific items, items that are displayed are tailored to the buyer’s interest using Facebook’s algorithm.

Marketplace will soon be available in the UK, US, New Zealand and Australia on the Facebook app. If the mobile roll out is successful it will then be available for desktop users in the next few months.